Learning to fight invisible flames

Training also lets firefighters inspect racing safety gear.

Training also lets firefighters inspect racing safety gear.

March 27, 2006|ERIN MILLER Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- What firefighters can't see when approaching a wrecked race car can still burn them. Some fuels powering vehicles racing around the South Bend Motor Speedway can ignite in the form of colorless, odorless but still powerful flames, German Township Fire Department Capt. Ron Melser explained during a training exercise Sunday afternoon. "It's wild to see it," Melser said, describing the shimmer of heat that rises above a vehicle being engulfed in invisible flames. "If the driver is conscious, he'll get out of there because he'll feel that heat." But rescue workers unfamiliar with methanol, for example, or other fuels that burn without visible flames might not take the right precautions when approaching such a fire, Melser said. The flames that eventually shoot from such fires come from the burning material within the vehicle, Melser said. How to recognize and respond to those burning fuels was just one lesson at the two-day motor sports safety training at the short track west of South Bend, where the weekly races are set to resume next month. Melser and a handful of firefighters from German, Warren and Portage townships regularly volunteer as the safety crew at the track. When drivers suffer serious injuries, firefighters from those three townships could be called as backup. About two dozen firefighters from those townships, as well as Niles, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, attended Sunday's outdoor training session, which followed a Saturday class. The Michiana Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society, a firefighting organization, sponsored the state-certified motor sports safety course. Melser, who has worked on the safety crew at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., said he wanted area firefighters to understand the hazards they might find at the speedway. He said firefighters need to be aware of the possibility of flying debris, as well as how to clean up dangerous spills near a crash. Firefighters got the chance to look at a contained alcohol-fueled fire in a pan, Melser said. Firefighters also inspected and practiced releasing the safety gear that protects drivers once in the cars. The gear is more complicated than the seat belts in a regular car, and firefighters sometimes have a hard time removing drivers from crashed race cars, Melser said. Speedway owner Mike Bird said safety crew members don't often get the chance to look closely at the gear on race nights. "It's good for these guys to get in and see what's in there," Bird said, adding that the night of a race isn't usually a good time to get too close to a race car. Bird benefits from the firefighters' extra training, too. Safety is first at his track, he said, but entertaining the crowd is a close second. The sooner the safety crew can clear the track, the quicker he can get the show going again. "It's kind of a simple thing, but it can get complicated," Bird said. He has had few major crashes at the track in the last few years. The worst crashes in the 25 years he has owned the track were in the mid-1980s, including one that left a driver in a coma for about three months, he said. Five to 15 firefighters are at the speedway for each racing event. Most nights, their expertise isn't needed, Bird said. "Some nights, we sit around and drink pop," he said. "The next night, we have a wreck a race."